Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 263 Fathers! Roll it up!

Having a few cruel officials is not a big deal; Gao Lishi can handle it himself.

but.

Wang Xi is Li Longji's beloved nephew. If he were to send a few cruel officials to him and something went wrong, Li Longji would definitely blame him.

After some deliberation, Gao Lishi took advantage of Li Longji's rest time to report the matter to him.

Upon hearing this, Li Longji was completely baffled.

What a rare thing!

Using cruel officials to teach medicine?
This is something that most people wouldn't do.

Could this be Taoist thought?

If that were true, I'd be furious enough to wake up and yell at them, saying that this was clearly Legalist thought, not Taoist thought.

Confucianism silently applauded.

But then Gao Lishi offered another explanation.

Li Longji learned that they intended to utilize the special experience of cruel officials to research methods for treating external injuries, primarily for use on the battlefield.

My heart filled with anticipation.

After the military and political reforms are completed, he will want to wage war abroad. If he can find a way to cure his external injuries, it will be like adding wings to a tiger!

Therefore, Li Longji ordered Gao Lishi to select the most experienced and ruthless officials from the entire court and send them to the nameless academy.

Seeing that Li Longji was so serious, Gao Lishi dared not be negligent and immediately arranged for people to go and search.

Soon, twelve experienced and ruthless officials were brought in.

The thoughtful Gao Lishi even dressed them up specially, because people who have lived in prison for many years look so lifeless and would scare people to death if they went out.

But they're going to be teachers, so of course they can't go in this kind of image.

These twelve cruel officials were completely baffled when they heard that they were to be sent to be teachers, and even more so, teachers of saving lives and healing the wounded.

They even felt it was incredibly insulting!

I'm a ruthless official, and you expect us to go and save lives?
However, they quickly accepted, firstly because Gao Lishi had specifically requested it, and they dared not refuse.

Secondly, these cruel officials were all quite old. Experienced cruel officials were mostly from the Wu Zetian era, generally over sixty. In the last decade, torture had been used less frequently, as Li Longji sought to restore order, and the profession suffered greatly, becoming less desirable. These people were practically obsolete in the world of cruel officials; becoming teachers at an academy would be incredibly lucrative.

An unnamed academy.

Wang Xi sized up the twelve white-haired, kind-faced old men in front of him. "You are the legendary cruel officials?"

"what?"

The twelve old men all remained silent, looking embarrassed.

Is that a question?

The imperial court only had officials, but not the position of cruel official.

That's a misunderstanding people have about us.

But they dared not explain.

Li Jieman scratched his head and said, "It doesn't look like it at all, it's not scary at all."

Wang Xi put his hand on Li Jieman's shoulder and said, "Could you cut open this fat man's stomach, sew it back up, and make sure he doesn't die?"

Li Jie glared at Wang Xi with a frustrated expression, but then looked at the twelve old men with curiosity.

The other eleven old men all looked at the one in the middle.

The old man in the middle was quite embarrassed by the looks from his companions. He blushed and said, "Young master, if we're talking about disembowelment, I have the most experience and have succeeded quite a few times."

Li Jieman lifted his shirt. "Why don't you give it a try?"

The old man said in a panic, "I wouldn't dare."

Li Jieman snorted.

"hehe!"

Wang Xi patted Li Jieman on the shoulder and then asked the old man, "Have you written any books?"

The old man said, "I dare not say that I have written a book, but I have made records. Many of the current procedures for administering punishment were written by me."

Wang Xi asked, "What's your name?"

The old man said, "My name is Sima Dongxi."

"what?"

Wang Xi paused for a moment, then said, "Hmm, a good name, very suitable for your profession. You really are a Sima Dong-seok. Then you can be the head of the surgical department at our medical school. As for the salary, it's 200,000 yuan a year, including room and board. How about it?"

Sima Dongxi blinked. "How much more?"

Wang Xi said, "Two hundred thousand coins, is that too little?"

"many!"

Before he could finish speaking, the other eleven old men immediately surrounded him.

"Young master, I am skilled at severing hands and feet. I have severed at least eighty, if not a hundred, hands and feet in my hands."

"The villain is most skilled at cutting out tongues and gouging out eyes; he even successfully put a wooden eye into its socket."

"This scoundrel is very good at anal penetration."

"What do you use to poke it?"

"It's a special copper rod used to widen the prisoner's anus, then insert..."

"do not talk."

"This villain is extremely skilled at breaking bones and tendons."

These are truly a bunch of beasts.

Li Jieman, the adorable chubby boy, was so frightened that his face turned pale.

What a sin!
However, they were merely following orders. The real culprit was Wu Zetian. One can imagine how dark and inhumane the era of Wu Zetian was.

But there's nothing we can do about it. In terms of surgery alone, they are the best. There's no need to investigate that.

Even if there were a doctor who studied this kind of medicine, he could not possibly have such rich experience and such a good environment as them.

After all, they don't have to take responsibility if the prisoners die; their goal is simply to torture those prisoners to death.

This ensured that no one would dare to challenge Wu Zetian's authority again.

From this perspective, they are quite successful.

Wang Xi asked, "Do you know the purpose of our visit?"

Sima Dongxi said uncertainly, "They said... they sent me here to teach medicine."

Wang Xi nodded and said, "Exactly. We need your understanding of human anatomy, as well as your techniques for ensuring people don't die while repeatedly torturing them. Understand?"

Sima Dongxi nodded repeatedly, "Understood! Understood!"

Next, Wang Xi took them on a tour of the medical school of the nameless academy. The medical school was not located here, but in another courtyard, which they used as their medical school.

As for how to conduct the courses, Wang Xi first let them write their own textbooks, then show them to him, and he would make corrections.

His common sense, in this context, is that of advanced medicine.

Furthermore, Wang Xi plans to turn this medical school directly into a hospital, specializing in treating external injuries, and offering free medical care to the public. Medicine is about treating illnesses; without treatment, there's no way to learn.

The Dou family.

"Zixia is here! Please have a seat, please have a seat."

Dou Xiguan warmly welcomed Madam Zixia into the house.

Madam Zixia nodded slightly and said, "Zixia greets Uncle Dou."

Dou Xiguan's elder sister was Li Longji's biological mother, while Lady Zixia's aunt was Li Longji's adoptive mother; naturally, the two families had a very good relationship. "No need for formalities."

Dou Xiguan waved his hand and said, "I invited you here today because there is something I would like to ask you."

Lady Zixia's eyes flashed. "Is it about making fertilizer?"

"Exactly."

Dou Xiguan nodded, then said seriously, "To be honest, Zixia, I followed them without really understanding what was going on. Now it's starting to take shape. I had someone do the math, and we found that if we really follow Wang Maozhong's advice, everyone will need to use it, and we'll have to sell it at a low price. We might even lose money."

Madam Zixia pondered for a moment and said, "I have heard a little about this business, but I believe that as long as it is arranged properly, it will definitely not be a loss."

Dou Xiguan hurriedly asked, "What do you mean?"

Madam Zixia said, "According to the current policies of the imperial court, your families have monopolized the fertilizer in the entire Guanzhong region. In the future, everyone from princes and nobles to common people will come to you."

Furthermore, your business is related to taxes, which has a huge impact. Even if you lose a little, it's still a huge profit.

That's only one point. Secondly, the effectiveness of the fertilizer is still unknown. If it works well, then it won't just be the Guanzhong region that will buy it; people all over the country will want to buy it.

The subsidies from the imperial court will naturally increase. You will receive free corvée labor and free excrement. In other words, as long as the price remains the same, even if it is low, you will only earn more and more.

Most importantly, this skill can be continuously improved.

Dou Xiguan nodded and then asked, "Then tell me, what price should we set?"

Madam Zixia said, "I don't know for sure right now, so I can't say for sure. But I think the lower the price for ordinary people, the better."

Dou Xiguan said, "The lower the better?"

"Ah."

Madam Zixia nodded and said, "The main requirement for this business is the support of the imperial court. The imperial court does not care how much money you make, but how much the country will benefit from it. The more fertilizer the people receive, the more successful the imperial court will be, and the more the imperial court will reward them, even including Uncle Dou's career."

Dou Xiguan nodded, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly asked, "I wonder if Zixia is interested in this deal?"

Madam Zixia was secretly delighted, but she said in a humble yet assertive manner, "If I could have the honor of cooperating with Uncle Dou, it would be my good fortune."

Dou Xiguan chuckled and said, "You can't say that. This business is much bigger than I imagined. I can't possibly manage it all. As long as you can guarantee that I won't lose money, that's fine."

Lady Zixia pondered for a while and then said, "I think this is not too difficult."

Dou Xiguan was overjoyed and slammed his hand on the table, saying, "Alright, let's work together."

Lady Zixia smiled and nodded.

She was overjoyed; she couldn't believe such a good thing had happened.

This deal was something she could only dream of.

However, for Dou Xiguan, it was just a little bit lacking. He didn't need that much influence; as long as he could do this job well, he could rise rapidly in rank.

In fact, he was even more greedy than Wang Shouyi, but his abilities were no match for Wang Shouyi's.

Although Wang Shouyi was illiterate, he was still capable. After all, he had experienced two major political upheavals. As long as he worked hard, he could still do a good job.

Take, for example, the On Yeh Department now.

Although Li Linfu displayed his talent through the Anye Bureau, the bureau's primary task was still to ensure the livelihood of the people. Under Wang Shouyi's arrangement, many hidden households were properly resettled.

Luoyang!

"Oh dear! I heard that Anye Prefecture is just a small post station, what's going on!"

Upon arriving in Luoyang, Li Lingwen stood before a magnificent courtyard and was somewhat astonished.

Since its establishment, On Yip Shu has kept a very low profile, and when it is out in the open, it usually uses the kind of abandoned post stations.

Cui Shendao, who was standing next to him, laughed and said, "The one in charge of Anye Bureau is the Duke of Qi, so what is this?"

Li Ling chuckled and said, "That's right."

Wang Shouyi's wealth was among the best in Chang'an, but this mansion was nothing to him.

The two entered and were astonished to find people coming and going. They were not simply dressed hermits, but rather people dressed in fine clothes and accompanied by servants.

Even Cui Shendao was confused. "Have we come to the wrong place?"

Li Lingwen was also somewhat puzzled.

"Brother Li, Cui Sanlang."

Hearing a shout, Huangfu Shangde walked over.

Li Lingwen hurriedly stepped forward, "Huangfu, who are they?"

Huangfu Shangde said, "They are all merchants."

"merchant?"

Li Ling asked, "What are the merchants doing here?"

“Let’s go inside and talk. Brother Wang happens to be here too.”

"Row."

Upon arriving at the backyard, one sees Wang Shouyi sitting under a large tree, wearing a casual bathrobe, reviewing documents.

Li Lingwen gasped and rushed forward, asking, "Brother Wang, what are you doing?"

Wang Shouyi looked up and exclaimed with delight, "Lingwen, Shendao, what brings you here?"

His relationship with Li Lingwen was as close as brothers, after all, they were comrades-in-arms in the Xiantian Coup.

Li Ling asked, "What are you doing?"

Wang Shouyi said, "I'm looking at the documents from our Anye Department."

Li Lingwen exclaimed in surprise, "Can you understand it?"

Wang Shouyi snorted, "I don't understand. I was just pretending."

Li Ling asked curiously, "Who are you putting on this for?"

Wang Shouyi said irritably, "Of course I'm putting on an act for you guys."

Huangfu Shangde laughed heartily, “Don’t be fooled by him, my brother is now literate enough to read a lot of words. He can easily read any document.”

Upon hearing this, Li Lingwen said indignantly, "You, Wang Shouyi, you've been working hard behind my back without even informing your brother."

They're all lying flat; how can you work hard in secret?

Wang Shouyi sighed, "What effort? It's all been forced upon me. When I first came here, I thought it was just a matter of registering. Who knew there would be so much to do? I'm so busy now that I can't even have time for women or drinks."

Cui Shendao asked, "Is it that bad?"

Wang Shouyi nodded. “I’m not lying to you. Look at those merchants outside. They’re all here to recruit workers. On the one hand, I need to know what kind of people they’re looking for—whether they want to work in the workshop or as porters. On the other hand, I also need to know what skills those hidden merchants know.”

Huangfu Shangde said, "Actually, it was fine at first. We didn't need to step in; our servants could handle it. But there are more and more of them. They come to our Anye Bureau for everything. They even ask us to find Silla maids and Kunlun slaves. We are not their servants. It's outrageous."

Li Ling asked, "Just ignore them."

Huangfu Shangde looked at Wang Shouyi.

Wang Shouyi said evasively, "The people who come to us are all people we have connections with!"

Huangfu Shangde said, "What friendship? It's just your lovers. If you hadn't agreed to those lovers back then, none of this would have happened today."

Wang Shouyi said, "You always brag in front of women, how was I supposed to know it would turn out like this? I've already apologized, and besides, I've handed this over to Zixia. We're just going through the motions."

As he spoke, he quickly changed the subject, "By the way, did you two come here to have a drink with us? Well, I'm busy right now."

Li Lingwen and Cui Shendao exchanged a glance and smiled awkwardly.

Wang Shouyi said, "You guys aren't here to recruit people too, are you?"

They both nodded at the same time.

Wang Shouyi was immediately furious. "Go away, go away! Don't you think I'm busy enough? Go find it yourself."

(End of this chapter)